Part 1 Educational, Environmental and Economic Benefits

Transcription

1 Part 1 Educational, Environmental and Economic Benefits

2 Educational Benefits

3 Educational Benefits Role of schools teach and demonstrate: The world around them Earth s natural resources Schools are a good platform for change Students and staff are change agents Many students are PASSIONATE about doing their part

4 Stewardship through waste reduction Local and Global Hands-on learning Service Learning STEM curriculum

5 Composting is all this and MORE

6 Hands-on Learning Literally Education happens through students SENSES, not only by looking at a diagram in a book or on their ipads

7 Hands-on Learning Trash Audit separating food by hand, counting, weighing Every student separates recycling, food and trash EVERY DAY Tracking counting and weighing and seeing results creating graphs

8 Service Learning Fulfill Service Learning requirement at school Student ownership of the program Pragmatic learning experience about resource management physical evidence Separating recycling and food from trash - the NEW NORMAL Result: FOOD IS NOT TRASH - the NEW NORMAL

9 Impacts of Hands-on and Service Learning lessons and activities to real-world environmental protection & waste management Promoting environmental ethics to future generations NEW NORMAL stays with students as they graduate High School Parents learning about composting through their children

10 Testimonial "I m really happy that a lot of what we started is run by the students. They feel that they own it and that s really important.. "A lot of parents tell me that they started composting at home because the kids were doing it at school," - Kim Chaloner, 9 th grade biology teacher, Grace Church School, Manhattan

11 Starting the Conversation With Students classroom connection Start with the BIG PICTURE Teach students about the magnitude of the solid waste problem in the U.S. & world Let s look at Food Waste

12 Food is the largest component of MSW in the U.S.

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14 Food waste is the single largest and least recovered waste stream in the U.S. Total MSW Discards (by material), Million Tons (after recycling and composting) Total MSW Recovery (by material), Million Tons 5% food waste recovery rate! Source: US EPA EPA, 2013

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16 EPA s Food Recovery Challenge

17 Classroom Connection Big picture of solid waste problem opens door to students and teachers exploring solutions FIELD TRIPS at all levels!!!

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19 Educational Benefits Multiple entry points to integrating lessons from composting programs to the curriculum -Early Childhood programs through High School

20 The composting process teaches scientific concepts related to how ecosystems function... It s a hands-on activity that demonstrates the nitrogen cycle, how things biodegrade, and gives students a window into these processes that they typically don t see other than in an infographic in their textbooks. - Christine Robertson, Green School Campaign (NGO)

21 Early Childhood K-2 Elementary What is really trash Composting with worms What is recycling Learning how to sort with practice Food is not garbage What i

22 3-5 Elementary Middle School Magnitude of Food Waste Conserving Resources Reduce and Reuse Compost cycle Energy Use What i

23 3-5 Elementary - Middle School Relate practice to lessons in: Conserving resources & energy Earth Science, Chemistry, Biology Compost cycle how food decomposes Math Literature

24 High School Environmental Science Chemistry Economics Sociology and Psychology Food and Farming What i

25 High School Gateway to Careers Environmental science Statistics Math Psychology Economics Chemistry, Biology and Earth Science Literature Cooking class (compost the scraps!). AND ON AND ON

26 Environmental Benefits

27 Environmental Benefits Only about 5% of what is thrown away in the garbage at schools is actual trash Cornell Waste Management Institute

28 95% of what schools produce is not really TRASH Environmental Benefits Recyclables: Paper and Cardboard Tin or Metal Numbered Plastic Glass Compostables: Anything that was once alive Redeemables: School/ green team can make $

29 A Perfect Storm One-third of food is wasted = 1.3 billion tons per year Food Increased demand 50% by 2030 (FAO) Increased demand 50% by 2030 Energy Climate Change (IEA) Water Increased demand 30% by 2030 (IFPRI) Citations: IEA, FAO, IFPRI Slide credit: UK WRAP

30 Impacts Our Environment Food production and waste negatively impacts water quality, soil productivity, and contributes to about 13% of the nation s greenhouse gas emissions. (EPA)

31 Food waste is the single largest and least recovered waste stream in the U.S. Total MSW Discards (by material), Million Tons (after recycling and composting) Total MSW Recovery (by material), Million Tons 5% food waste recovery rate! EPA, 2013

32 Ten year old carrot from a landfill Same carrot in a compost bin would become soil in a few months

33 Environmental Benefits of Composting: Reduces Greenhouse gasses (methane) Compost enriches soil: Regenerates poor soils with nutrients, enhances moisture retention Schools use compost in school gardens, on athletic fields and landscaping Keeping left over food out of incinerators saves energy

34 Impact of composting on Waste-to-Energy incinerators: Environmental Benefits Food scraps are mostly water and negatively affect the efficiency of the incinerator Keeping left over food out of incinerators saves energy

35 Case study: New York City New law: 2015: NYC ban on sending discarded food to landfills "We could be taking all of Brooklyn's organics, and rather than paying millions of dollars to send it to landfill, right here in Brooklyn, converting it into clean, renewable energy. - Rob Gonen, New York's deputy commissioner for recycling says

36 Case Study: Massachusetts New law: October, 2015: MA ban on sending discarded food to landfills Goal: Reduce waste stream by 80% by 2050 the ban will allow more food to make its way into the mouths of the hungry, organizations will save money on waste disposal, there will be fewer landfills and greenhouse gases, and more green energy and green energy jobs not to mention the fertilizer. - David Cash - commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection

37 Economic Benefits

38 Economic Benefits Trash = $$$ $$

39 Depends on: How much $ can school save? 1. trash hauling fee some charge by bulk, some by weight, some by frequency 2. compost hauling fee nationally, tends to be less than trash hauling fee

40 School Recycling and Composting program outcome: Increase recycling by 80% - bulk Increase composting by 100% - weight

41 Economic Benefits Sorting trash has potential to dramatically reduce volume and/or weight of trash going to school dumpster every day Hauling trash is a School Budget Item - Trash disposal hauling fees can be expensive Reduce trash in dumpster = fewer/lighter trash pick-ups = cost savings

42 Ecomaine charges: Portland Area Costs $70.50 tipping fee / per ton of trash $0 tipping fee for recycling YOUR COST: depends on your hauler a negotiated item

43 Economic Benefits Material Hauling Fee By Municipality (based on weight or frequency) Hauling Fee By Private Hauler (based on weight or frequency) Tipping Fee/Ton [X Landfill] Tipping Fee/Ton ecomaine Waste-to- Energy Facility Trash $ $ $ $ Tipping Fee/Ton ecomaine Recycling Facility Recycling $ $ N/A N/A $0.00 Left-over Food $ $ N/A N/A N/A

44 How to increase potential cost savings to schools: The more your school recycles and composts, the fewer trash pickups will be needed. Savings depends on contract costs of trash, compost and recycling hauling Example: as program unfolds, re-negotiate trash pickups from 1-5 times per week to much less frequently Keep track of number of contractor bags used in sorting stations pricey Keep separate accounting of waste hauling fees and contractor bags use saved $ for sustainability programs in school

45 Cost of Composting Nationally, compost haulers tend to undercut trash hauling costs Ex: $12 per cubic yard versus $15 for garbage (Bellingham, Washington State School) Ex: Eco-Movement (San Francisco) offers restaurants a lower rate for hauling their waste we want people to be incentivized, not only by the cost savings, but by doing this for the environmental reasons. So we just looked at their overall costs and reduced it by 15 to 20 percent.

46 Cost of Composting Ex: school year, the district diverted over 800,000 pounds from the waste stream, resulting in a net savings of $53,000. Even with the extra the district spends now that it uses paper products instead of Styrofoam, it still comes out ahead. (Bellingham WA School) Ex: Syracuse Academy of Science Charter School saved more than $6,000 annually in trash disposal fees, which run about $70 per ton Utica Observer-dispatch

47 Comes down to : Economic Benefits Trash pickup cost Compost hauler cost Tracking your progress

48 Saving the Environment One Cafeteria At a Time

49 Don t Trash It Sort It!